Litchfield teachers threatening to strike Wednesday

LITCHFIELD, Ill. (KSDK) - Teachers in an Illinois school district have reached a tentative agreement to avoid a strike.

Teachers in Litchfield, Illinois had been threatening to strike Wednesday morning.

The issue had been money. Both the teachers' union president and the superintendent were optimistic about coming to an agreement.

The teachers and the district will supposedly sign the two-year agreement on Tuesday.

There hadn't been a teachers' strike in more than 30 years.

The Illinois Education Association said the district has a surplus of more than a million dollars and can afford a slight raise for teachers. District officials said Illinois was underfunded Litchfield and the money was a hedge against the future.

Negotiations had been going on since last August. If no agreement could be reached, classes would have been canceled as of Wednesday. And if there was a strike, the superintendent said the district would've operated a day care for students at several schools, offering free breakfast and lunch but no classes.

Litchfield is located in Montgomery County, 55 miles northeast of St. Louis.